Recurrent genital herpes: what helps adjustment?

Psychosocial adjustment to recurrent genital infections with herpes simplex virus (HSV) varies greatly among individuals. To identify the factors predictive of psychosocial adjustment to recurrent genital HSV infections, we analyzed data from interviews and psychological tests conducted with infected individuals. We found that avoidant coping strategies such as denial and social support from a counselor were negatively correlated with adjustment to genital HSV, whereas cognitive coping strategies and social support from one's spouse or lover were positively correlated with adjustment.

The relationship among genital herpes simplex virus, stress, and social support.

Despite widespread popular belief in the activation of recurrent lesions in genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) by psychosocial stress, little empirical evidence supports that contention. This study retrospectively examined the role of stress in activation of HSV lesions as mediated by social support. Participants were 59 volunteers who had self-reported culture-positive genital HSV for at least 10 months.

Psychosocial aspects of genital herpes virus infection.

Genital herpes virus infection is one of the most prevalent and perhaps the most emotionally difficult of the sexually transmitted diseases. This article examines the current empirical and clinical understanding of the psychosocial aspects of the disease and proposes a framework for future investigation. Psychosocial issues of importance in the disease are discussed and responses characteristic of the psychosocial adjustment process are presented.

Stress reduction treatment of severe recurrent genital herpes virus.

Four individuals with high-frequency recurrences of genital herpes virus of at least 2 years' duration were treated with two behavioral stress-reduction treatments. Subjects were given 10 weekly sessions of frontalis EMG biofeedback (2 subjects) or progressive muscle relaxation treatment (2 subjects). Presession and postsession frontalis EMG measures were recorded for all subjects across treatment.

Psychological aspects of multiple sclerosis and its treatment: toward a biopsychosocial perspective.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive neurological disease that produces demyelination of the CNS nerve fibers. With onset most often in young adulthood, the disease produces a variety of neurological symptoms and follows an unpredictable course characterized by exacerbations and remissions. This article reviews the literature on psychological aspects of MS including early psychoanalytic studies and more current psychosocial research.

Fibrositis and psychologic disturbance.

Thirty patients with fibrositis and 2 control groups, one of rheumatoid arthritis patients and the other of arthritis patients with other than rheumatoid arthritis, were compared on the basis of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to assess the role of psychologic factors in fibrositis. Patients with fibrositis differed in both elevation and variability in their MMPI profiles, indicating that they were more psychologically disturbed than patients with rheumatoid or other types of arthritis. The fact that almost all of the fibrositis patients' MMPI scales were higher suggests that we might be dealing with a number of different psychologic disturbances that have stiffness and musculoskeletal pain as principal and common symptoms.

A personal adaptation group for burn injured hospital patients.

This article describes the first reported psychotherapeutic group for hospitalized burn patients. The rationale for the group is based upon an adaptive coping model. Issues typically dealt with in groups include feelings toward hospital staff, emotional reactions to treatments, and feelings concerning their burn injury.